The decision was made at a cabinet meeting chaired by Lee on Monday, just a day after his return from a weeklong summer vacation.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the special amnesty aimed at "promoting unity in the country" covers some 836,687 individuals including some 2,000 minor offenders convicted of livelihood-related crimes and about 20 business moguls.
Among those included is former Justice Minister and ex-leader of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party Cho Kuk.
Cho's pardon comes less than a year after he was sentenced to two years in prison in December last year for corruption and document forgery related to his children's university admissions.
Several figures accused of irregularities and other wrongdoings, including Cho's wife Chung Kyung-shim, former lawmakers Choe Kang-wook and Yoon Mee-hyang, and former Seoul education chief Cho Hee-yeon - were also pardoned or had their rights reinstated.
Amid ominous signs over the much-anticipated inclusion of Cho, along with Yoon, the former head of a charity for victims of wartime sex slavery who was handed a three-year suspended sentence last year for embezzling money from donations, Lee's approval rating slid for the first time, hitting its lowest level since he took office in early June.
According to pollster Realmeter's latest survey of 2,500 people conducted last week, his approval rating stood at 56.5 percent, down 6.8 percentage points from a week earlier.
Cho and Yoon have been unremorseful, claiming their cases were politically-motivated from the previous administration.
reporter
Im Yoon-seo
lyseo0330@ajupress.com
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